The Chemung County Planning Board will review the project when it meets Aug. 21.

Plans call for demolition of the old Walmart building, followed by construction of a new, 49,300-square-foot building, said Randy Olthof, county planning commissioner.

The project will also involve improvements to the existing parking lot and work on the utilities that will serve the building, Olthof said.

Demolition is tentatively scheduled to begin in October, and the new building is expected to be completed in October 2014, Olthof said.

If county planners approve, the project will then go back to the Big Flats Planning Board for final approval in September.

Big Flats Town Supervisor Teresa Dean said there aren't any major hurdles to clear, and she expects the project to be approved in September.

She said she'd contacted a number of major retailers in recent years, trying to help attract a new tenant to the site, but she wasn't sure which one was planning to move in. She said she'd heard that a Field & Stream - a specialty store owned by Dick's Sporting Goods that focuses on hunting, fishing and camping gear - was a possibility.

Walmart was one of the original anchors of Consumer Square, but it moved about six years ago to a new, expanded location a few miles down County Route 64 at the Southern Tier Crossing plaza in the Town of Horseheads.

The building has sat empty since.

Chemung County Executive Tom Santulli said he was pleased the old Walmart was poised for redevelopment.

"That's one of those buildings that people always ask about, because it's a big store, and at one time it was an anchor, and (business owners) in Consumer Square, I know are very interested and excited about the possibility of making that an active store again," Santulli said. "When Walmart moved, it's no secret, there was a shift in the traffic (to Southern Tier Crossing)."